


Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Character Study
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-02-03
Updated: 2001-02-03
Packaged: 2019-05-15 19:07:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14796257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: Different people of the West Wing reflect on their lives so far.





	Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

 

RATING: G  
NOTES: New series. See Part One.  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the West Wing or any of its related   
characters. Don't sue.   
SUMMARY: Different people of the West Wing reflect on their lives so   
far.

I know where he went. I doubt he knows that I know where he went.   
It's hard for him. He doesn't want to admit it, but it's hard for him   
to say goodbye again. He never wanted her to work here in the first   
place, and only I know the real reason why: he felt bad because he   
has always believed that his job was meant to be hers. I know that   
that's not true. I mean, if he asked anyone, they would say that his   
job was always his, and always mean to be his.   
My job, however did not technically exist until he walked into his   
own office on the campaign trail and found me answering his phone. We   
walked around the room and suddenly, I officially had the job as   
opposed to just pretending that I had it.   
It's a nice difference.   
Josh is a great guy. Aside from the fact that he knows he's a great   
guy, he's a great guy. He's nice, intelligent and he can even be   
sweet from time to time. I like him. He's a good guy.   
He worries me though. There's so much that has happened in the past   
two years. To him, to me, to this administration and the people in   
it. Sometimes I wonder how I got to be a part of this whole thing. I   
mean, where was it written in my fate that I would go from being an   
innocent little child in Madison, Wisconsin to this young woman that   
I am today, working hard in the White House, capital of the United   
States of America?  
My parents had always told me that they'd be proud of me as long as I   
never did anything illegal. It's a strange thing to have your parents   
say to you. I've done my best to follow what they've said and that's   
the most they could expect of me, I should think. I love my parents   
and I love my life. I think that my life has gone a lot better than I   
could have planned.  
I had never planned this. My poly-sci teacher never would have   
either. I think he was convinced that I was destined for the food   
service counter. He told me I should practice saying "Welcome to   
Happy Burger. May I take your order?" Maybe I should call him up and   
gloat. "Welcome to the White House. Please wait here while I summon   
the Secret Service to have them haul your ass kicked out of the   
building."   
That would be a nice sight to see.   
I got this job just by talking to Josh. Josh and I talk well. We walk   
and talk around the office all the time. It's fun talking to him; we   
have this banter that gets me through his harsh times. He can be an   
insensitive jerk sometimes, but then there are times when he's the   
sweetest guy I've ever met. When I first met him, I felt like we had   
an instant connection.  
He's always called Mike "Dr. Freeride".  
Drat that Josh. It's his fault. He should know better than to be that   
charming. He makes it very hard.   
The day has gotten well underway now. Josh is hiding in his office,   
probably trying not to think about Mandy. He's brooding. He tends to   
brood about women. He broods about Mandy; he broods about Joey; he   
broods about the First Lady and he even broods about CJ sometimes. He   
wants to believe he's a lady's man, and these women deny him that   
pleasure.  
Personally, I don't know.  
I think that I should go back to college when President Bartlet gets   
out of office. Older people have done it. I believe that I could get   
that degree. I think it would be important to have it. I suppose I   
could just be Josh's assistant for the rest of my life or someone   
else's when he doesn't need an assistant any more. Of course, Josh's   
life is so cluttered, he'll probably need an assistant for the rest   
of his life just to keep everything in order.   
I still don't know where I want my life to go. When I was a kid, I   
imagined myself as one day being a great actress or a successful   
doctor or a powerful senator... There were a lot of things that I   
wanted to be. I kept finding new options, things that seemed more   
wonderful than the one before it, but now that I think about it, I   
never found something that I was truly passionate about. When Mike   
dropped me, I needed something to be passionate about and so I drove   
to New Hampshire. I had heard about Jed Bartlet, and from what I'd   
heard, this was a man I wanted to help.  
I wanted to make a difference. I believe that I do.  
When I was on the road from Madison to Nashua, I spent my time   
singing to the radio and thinking about the world I was leaving   
behind as well as the world that I was about to enter. Was my future   
going to be any brighter than my past? I hoped so then, and I think   
so now.  
I don't think that I ever in my wildest dreams believed I'd be the   
assistant to the White House Deputy Chief of Staff. When I arrived at   
the campaign office, I sort of took initiative, something I had never   
really done before. I had never really been assertive with men until   
I laid eyes on Josh. Something about the way he talked to me and the   
way he looked at me made me feel secure and comfortable, like it was   
okay to be myself.   
I wonder if that makes any sense.  
Anyway, since then I've been rather self-confident and quite at ease   
with the world. I really wish I'd met Josh before Dr. Freeride. It   
would have been a lot easier for me in the long run. He could have   
saved me some pain and a lot of trouble, and I could have my   
degree... but I wouldn't be working here. If I had met Josh   
earlier, I probably wouldn't be working for him now. I don't think   
life would be as good as it is now if it weren't for this job. I   
guess that goes to show that everything happens for a reason. If it   
weren't for Dr. Freeride, I probably wouldn't be here now.  
Maybe I should send him a White House thank-you card.   
Josh has to go to a meeting now. I have to work on a memo for him.   
I've already forgotten what it's supposed to be about. Let's   
see... Inter-office dating? Where's the reason in that? Are we   
about to send a bill to Congress banning inter-office dating? Isn't   
that in violation of freedom of expression or something like that?  
I've never really thought of an issue like that. I mean, I've seen   
the stuff that CJ and Danny have gone through, but that's not inter-  
office; that's conflict of interest. Where's the dilemma? Maybe it's   
the whole sexual harassment thing. Like, if a person dates his or her   
boss, and then the relationship doesn't work out, that person can sue   
his or her boss with charges of sexual harassment out of hurt or   
malice or something. I guess that's the major problem. Still, I think   
that if two people can decide that they like each other enough to   
risk a friendship, isn't it also conceivable that two people can make   
the choice to risk their jobs in search of happiness?  
It just occurred to me what it is that I'm thinking about.  
Oh, my God.  
It is suddenly obvious that I need to think about something other   
than Josh and inter-office dating... Josh and inter-office   
dating...  
How the hell am I going to write a memo about inter-office dating   
now?? I'm not going to be able to without thinking about...  
Time for a change of subject.  
I think I should call my parents. I haven't talked to them in a   
while; I've been so busy. It would be nice to see them again. Maybe   
I'll take a weekend and go visit them. It would be nice to talk to   
them again. I talked to them on Christmas and before that I talked to   
them right after...Right after the night of the shooting.  
I haven't thought of the shooting in what seems like such a long   
time. Was it really so long ago? Six months? Almost? I'm not even   
sure. God, that was a scary night. I lost my use of vocabulary that   
night; I couldn't understand the word "hit"... Everyone in the   
room looked at me that night as if they knew... Mrs. Landingham   
and the First Lady were sharing their pain with me, as well as giving   
me comfort. CJ, Sam, Toby with the ways they were looking at me; the   
way Toby spoke to me...  
It was as if they all knew that I'm in love with Josh.  
I'd better get back to work before I go insane.

********************

  


End file.
